Uglies Christmas Special
by Zeorzia
Summary: Aya is under stress, and finally it seems to have gotten to her. Has happy ending and everything!


**Uglies Christmas Special**

**Hey guys! I just thought, what with all the Christmas spirit in the air, I might as well use the inspiration and write a one off for the Uglies. This fanfic is dedicated to my friend Fiona, for recommending the series to me, and of course Scott Westerfeld for writing it.**

**Disclaimer: Uh, I just **_**mentioned**_**, ****Scott Westerfeld**** wrote them! **

Aya Fuse stood, motionless, in the centre of her room. She was preparing to step outside. For most people that wouldn't seem very hard, but Aya was not most people. She had recently discovered a plan to destroy Earth, met the most famous person in the world (Tally Youngblood) in an attempt to foil the plan, and then revealed that actually the plan was to _save _humanity. This had made her hated and loved, in equal measure, but most of all, made her famous. Waiting outside were millions of fame-seeking cams trying to kick the latest story. So, as you can see, stepping outside is harder than you might think.

"How bogus! Bogus, bogus, bogus. How am I ever going to get some private time with Frizz?"

She sighed. She'd always thought that being famous would solve all her problems. Instead, it had created more, and becoming an extra again was way harder than getting famous ever was. Too bad she was learning this the hard way.

"Aya, Hiro is waiting for you outside," spoke the room suddenly, making her jump.

"Phew, Hiro'll find a way to slip me out," she said, relaxing. "Send him in."

She realised that she was relying on Hiro a bit too much (already today she had seen him three times) but really, he was her only escape route. Once again, she thought longingly of her old, anonymous, unknown life as a nobody. Somehow she overlooked the misery, the slights and the pressure she had felt back then and just remembered the peacefulness and _stillness_ of everything. Nowhere to go, nobody to meet, no-one organising her life and telling her, 'You just have to meet so and so' or, 'Visit this party, you have to keep up your appearances you know, if you're going to make it in the big time.' Didn't it occur to anybody that she might not _want_ to make it in the big time? That actually she wanted to be a nobody again?

There was a snapping sound and she looked down at the splintered remains of her desk. She winced, then ordered a replacement from the hole in the wall. That was one of the upsides of being famous. That and… actually she couldn't think of another upside. Best to keep thinking of the positives (well, positive) though. The door swung open smoothly with a little whoosh, and then Hiro spoiled the whole effect by knocking over a vase with a clatter. She bit her lip to keep herself from laughing as he righted the vase and then tried to stride onwards as if nothing had happened. He wasn't a very good actor.

"So… How's things?" he asked breezily (still covering up his mistake).

"You _know _how things are. This is the fourth time you've come over!"

He hung his head sheepishly.

"…But actually, can you distract the cams again while I slip out?" she whispered conspiritally.

Giving a little half-smile he nodded. She glared at him. How dare he mock her! A second ago she had felt like he was her saviour, and was relieved that he was still willing to help her out, but now all she could see was red. Suddenly all the anger which had been building up inside her spilled out.

"Don't you dare smile like that, like you know what's going on inside my head! You don't have a clue! If you're just gonna smirk like that I don't want your help! In fact I wish I'd never met you, you… you… _fame-loving piece of dirt_, thinking everyone below the hundred mark in popularity ain't worth your attention!"

Hurt, Hiro retaliated by shouting, "Oh yeah, well maybe I don't want to help _you _anymore! Why did I even bother to come here?"

They glared at each other furiously for a whole minute before Aya suddenly spun round and exited her room, deciding she would rather face the cams alone than with _him_. Taking a deep breath, she stepped outside. Instead of the usual barrage of questions she had been expecting she found all the kickers looking up at her window. Following their lead she glanced up and gasped. There was Hiro, and he was setting of loads of fireworks, making the building look like New Pretty Town had been before the mind-rain. Despite everything she had said he was still willing to set up a distraction for her. Her heart swelled with love and she regretted what she had said earlier. It made her feel somehow… dirty. She was so wrapped up in her internal dilemma she didn't notice the kicker in front of her till she barged into him.

"Oh sorry, I must have been in the way, I'll move now – hey, you're Aya Fuse!"

She couldn't help it. Her nerves from the fight and her current fury towards kickers combined to form an explosion of anger, like in her confrontation with Hiro. She told the unfortunate kicker _exactly _what she thought of him being in the way (despite it really being her fault for not looking where she was going!). She talked to him pleasantly about how kickers were evil, scheming, life-ruining bubble heads, to which the poor victim pointed out Aya was a kicker herself – that being how she got so famous. This was obviously the wrong thing to say. You don't want to know the stuff she said to that. Trust me.

Eventually the poor man escaped home, but refused to come out all day after that. This _would_ have been fine, except that he also had part-time job directing mag-lev trains for credits. Which means the undirected mag-levs collided; which means the illegal matter it was carrying was destroyed; which means the criminal's plan to storm one of the cities was ruined; which means the town could call for reinforcements; which means they could defeat the villains; which means that the Earth was saved… But that's another story, to be posted on fanfiction another time.

In this story, Aya had almost reached Frizz's apartment, and was glad to get out of the cold. Just as she reached the door however, a man stepped in front of her. He was dressed up in a weird outfit which mostly red, but with white synthetic fur around the edges, and black boots and belt. On his head was a hat that matched the costume.

"I am Santa Cloz." He proclaimed proudly. "Please donate something to the Christmas celebration charity."

She had never heard of Santa Cloz but could guess what it was. It was an old Rusty celebration, probably religious, rediscovered to raise someone's popularity. She'd seen it a thousand times and knew full well how to react. You had to be very polite, but firm as well and not give in even a little. But once again her bottled up frustration burst out and ruined that plan. No, she didn't give in at all, and yes, she was very firm, but polite? Not so much. Her tongue could have withered a flower from twenty paces away, had her wrath been directed at it. As it was 'Santa Cloz' cowered before her and was very relieved when his knight in shining armour, in this case Frizz, arrived and pulled her away. Rather than his usual smile she was surprised to see him frown.

"What is it?" she asked him.

For a moment it looked like he would say 'nothing' but then Radical Honesty stopped him. At her suggestion he had kept it, and now she was glad he had.

"It's just… that was a bit… _harsh_ don't ya think?"

For the fourth time today her anger rose up but this time the eyes she glared into stared right back. Come on, they said. You aren't really like this, are you? She narrowed her own eyes. Frizz stared back, unflinching, and seemed to show her that maybe she had been a bit hard on the guy after all. All he'd done was ask for a donation. As she realised this she felt heartily ashamed of herself, and even more when she got inside and saw the kicker she had insulted earlier had put a story about how horrid Aya really was on their feed. Then, as if reaching the climax, Hiro stepped in, reminding her how even after their fight he had set up a distraction. I truly am horrid, she thought. How could I be so mean to all these innocent people, just 'cause I was cross?

She went up to Hiro, who had been avoiding her ever since he had arrived, and said, "I guess I, er, owe you, um, an apology… and a thank you. You helped me even after our… _my _fight."

Then he smiled, a true, full, innocent smile that Aya had only seen him use a few times before.

"Hey, what are older brothers for?"

'Santa Cloz' wasn't so forgiving, though Aya knew she had done her best to make things right and was comforted. It was the kicker, however, who made her feel like she had really made up for her mistakes. It might have been the sincere way she looked at him as she expressed how sorry she was, or it might just have been the mention of a free dinner, but he immediately took off his story. Instead it was replaced by an inside into Aya's life, which raised sympathy from many of its viewers and ended up with a protest to lessen the amount of kickers allowed near her.

So in the end everyone got what they wanted (excluding perhaps Santa Cloz) and they all lived happily ever after…

* * *

"Hirooooooooo! Stop smiling like that, like you know everything! Hiro!"

Oh well.

**Hope you like it! And to Crystal Clear readers, this is the reason I haven't updated for so long, so please forgive me. Zeorzia.  
****PS: Plz r&r!**


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